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What will the election mean for our communities?

Submitted by OP Editors on November 14, 2016 - 9:07pm

The Mayors of Carrboro, Hillsborough and Chapel Hill and the Chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners put out a joint statement to the community on the 2016 Presidential Election. The text of their letter is below.

Just what the election means for our community is yet to be fully known and may not for some time, but local efforts are underway to anticipate issues before they arise and respond.

For example, El Centro Hispano-Carrboro will be holding a community forum on Tuesday, November 22nd at 6:30 pm to discuss what the election might mean for immigrant communities. The location is to be determined. We will post the location in the thread when it is announced.

Know of other community activities being planned in response to the election? Please comment and share it.

Post Date: 11/14/2016 10:49 AM

An Open Letter to Orange County Residents:

Like many, since Election Day we have reflected on what our country’s presidential election will mean for our communities.

Many of the core community values under which our elected boards operate could be affected by the result of this presidential election. We value and embrace our immigrant residents. We advocate for non-discrimination and equality for our LGBT residents. We acknowledge the reality of climate change and believe we need to take steps to protect the future of our planet. We support efforts to provide health care to all citizens. We believe laws regarding the regulation of guns need to be viewed and considered in a common-sense fashion. We believe no one should feel unsafe in our community because of their gender, religion, ethnicity, or cultural heritage. We stand against bullying, harassment, and assault for any reason. Because we care about these very important issues that have been so prominent in the recent election campaign, we have concern as to how they might impact us on the local level under the new presidential administration.

As your elected leaders, we have heard from several residents who want reassurance from our local governing bodies that we will hold true to our values. We assure you that we will and that our colleagues will.

We have also heard that some residents have been the victims of racial, religious and homophobic slurs since the election. Perhaps this is an outgrowth from the recent inflammatory campaign season, but let us be clear: This type of harassment has no place in our county or our towns and will not be tolerated. Any residents who are the victims of this type of behavior should call 911 immediately and report these incidents to our law enforcement agencies.

As we move forward with this transition, we need to listen to each other and pay special attention to our values of inclusiveness and respect. While not perfect, this is the way democracy works in our country, and we believe this ultimately makes us a stronger nation. In the meanwhile, we all need to work hard and keep advocating for our very important community values.